FRANK Lampard wants Coventry City to play with more intent in the final third in the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Sunderland.
The Sky Blues head to the Stadium of Light needing to overturn a one-goal deficit following a 2-1 defeat in the first leg at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
City dominated possession in the first leg but succumbed to two goals on the counter attack and struggled to test Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson regularly enough.
And Lampard is urging his players to trust in the system that has seen the Sky Blues rise from the lower reaches of the table to fifth and a place in the play-offs.
Lampard said: “The players have to understand why we have got to where we have from being 17th and looking a long way from the play-offs, the reason they have got to where they are is because of the way we play and because of what they do individually within that collective.
“You saw the way we wanted to play, and Sunderland came and respected us to be fair in the first game, got the result, but you can see the way we want to play.
“We need to do a few details better, which we can explain to the players, but other than that, keep doing what we’ve been doing and trust ourselves because it’s a game of football.
“I think some of the responsibility is on us to be a little more intent and have a little bit more at the top end of the pitch, which didn’t fall for us [in the first leg] and if it had maybe the result could have felt better, but that’s the reality of play-off football.”
The defeat brought an end to Coventry’s fine recent record against Sunderland who claimed a first win at the Sky Blues for more than 40 years in the first leg.
However, Lampard believes his players have a strong enough spirit and togetherness to bounce back and overturn the deficit.
Lampard added: “I think it’s exciting for the players, we could be on the beach now like some other teams, but we’re not, we’re in play-offs, we’re going to the Stadium of Light.
“It’s a fantastic stadium with a really good fan base who are going to support their team, it’s why we play the game, you can’t always play in front of your home fans, our fans are amazing.
“To go into this environment should be an absolute inspiration to our players, to go and play in the right way and show what we can do on the pitch.
“I think we’re a strong group for that because the players are very together, they’re very determined.
“We scored instantly after they scored the other night and it’s a reflection on the spirit they have as a group, so we need to continue with that.”
Coventry travel to Sunderland in the second leg of their play-off semi-final on Tuesday, May 13 with kick-off at 8pm at the Stadium of Light.
